The Sydney to Hobart yacht race has become established as one of the world's major sporting events. In 1998 it became one of the world's major sporting disasters. Six sailors tragically perished, countless others suffered injuries and numerous yachts sank or were badly damaged. The subsequent search and rescue operation was one of the most phenomenally accomplished peacetime efforts the world has ever seen. Rob Mundle, one of Australia's leading journalists and yachtsmen, tells this story of challenge and survival with compassion, vigour and understanding. He details the history of the race, the excitement of the start and the thrill of competition, and from his extensive interviews with officals, crews, survivors and rescue service personnel he relates like no other the calamity and triumph of the 1998 blue water classic. This is a tale of high adventure, of fascination with and fear of the sea, and of the emotions of the families of the competitors as well as the competitors themselves; the dreadful situations when faced with fatalities, and the feelings of utter helpless when it came to saving others. It is a salute to the rescuers, and a tribute to those who died.